Book 25, Question 57
What happens at a wastewater treatment plant?
Water from sinks, showers, and toilets flows through sewers to a treatment plant.
First, screens catch large objects. Then the water sits in tanks, where solids sink. Tiny microbes eat the leftover waste while air is bubbled through. Finally, the water is disinfected, often with ultraviolet light or chlorine, before it is released to a river or lake, much cleaner than when it arrived.
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Quick answers
What happens at a wastewater treatment plant?
Wastewater flows into aeration tanks, which plant technicians closely monitor and adjust to create an environment for microorganisms to multiply and grow.
Source: City of Toronto
More fun facts
- Commercial wastewater comes from businesses, restaurants and manufacturing plants.
Sources: Texas A&M University